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The Xbox Entertainment Studio wants the same kind of original programming that broadcast and cable networks crave, but with interactive elements for subscribers to the Xbox Live service, according to studio head Nancy Tellem. The studio is initially targeting younger Xbox users. "Interactivity is a natural extension of what they do," Tellem says.

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Online video advertising grew at a faster clip in 2012 than did the content it is designed to support, according to a FreeWheel report that suggests demand for Web ads may soon exceed market capacity. "If new opportunities for distribution and syndication aren't created and more content isn't made available online, advertising revenue potential will stall as there is a limit to the number of video ads that can be placed in a single piece of content," FreeWheel said in its quarterly Video Monetization Report.

The New York Times has plugged a hole in its pay wall that let readers circumvent story limits by changing part of the URL. There are still a number of workarounds to the subscription service. The Times' Eileen Murphy said the company will "continue to make adjustments to optimize the gateway by implementing technical security solutions to prohibit abuse and protect the value of our content."

Intel says it will jump into the Web TV business this year with a set-top box and subscription streaming-video service. The set-top box will include a high-definition camera and microphone that could support videoconferencing and facial-recognition technology, Intel says. Erik Huggers, head of Intel Media, says the company is negotiating content agreements.

Netflix will add an original animated series called "Turbo: F.A.S.T." under a deal with DreamWorks Animation. The series, which will be available in December, is based on the DreamWorks movie "Turbo," about a snail with fantasies of being a race-car driver.

The U.S. is doing a better job of bringing cheap, fast broadband to its citizens than some analysts suggest, according to research from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. The ITIF says that relative to nations with densely populated areas and robust government subsidies, the "largely suburban" U.S. is making significant strides in broadband performance, price and deployment.